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Derek Comes Home
Plot Bill and Ben were working a lot more than usual since Derek's accident, and BoCo made sure they never played a single trick. Bill and Ben quickly got bored. "Ugh, all we do is shunt silly trucks around the Clay Pits!" complained Ben. "Well, it's your own fault," scoffed BoCo, "You two are the ones who got Derek in the accident." Bill rolled his eyes as Ben bumped some trucks into a siding. "It's getting lonely too," Bill noted, "You're barely around and Marion and Timothy are in a deeper part of the China Clay Works." BoCo raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying you miss Derek?" BoCo chuckled. Bill and Ben became defensive. "Of course not!" snorted Ben, "Derek's a fuddy duddy!" "Yeah...what he said!" said Bill. BoCo rolled his eyes and oiled away with a train of trucks. At the Dieselworks, Derek was waiting to be tested so he could get back to the Wellsworth Branch. "Is my engine alright Den?" "I think so... Um, what I mean is... erm..." "What he means is that your engine should be fixed, but first you're going to be tested." said Dart. "Oh joy..." sighed Derek impatiently. "You'll go home soon," assured his driver, but Derek still felt very lonely indeed. He waited as the workmen turned on his engine. "Come on ol' boy," said his driver, "Lets test you and go to the station and back." "If you say so," said Derek, unsure, and he soon left the Dieselworks. At Vicarstown, Murdoch was arriving with a train of passengers. "These passengers are constantly complaining!" he cried as he pulled in. "It's not all bad," assured Gordon, who was there with the express, "At least you're helping people get to their destinations." "Yes, but they're so noisy!" cried Murdoch. Suddenly Derek oiled in, as slowly as he could. "What are you doing here?" spluttered Gordon. "I had to get repaired at the Dieselworks." explained Derek, "I'm testing to see if my engine is still faulty." "I bet it is," snickered Gordon. Murdoch shot him a glare. "I hope not," replied Derek, ignoring Gordon's tone, "I need to keep Bill and Ben in order. They're probably tearing up the place." "Those demons..." grumbled Gordon and he set off for Barrow-in-Furness. The China Clay Works was in a frenzy. There was a big order of China Clay that needed to be taken to the Docks at sunset, but Bill and Ben had barely even had a fourth ready. "By this rate, the order will be very late," sighed BoCo. Bill bumped five more trucks into a line. "These make a fourth," he smirked. BoCo sighed, "You two need to take this seriously. If only Derek was here, he'd make this work a lot faster." "You can say that again," panted Timothy, "I just came back from the Docks!" Bill looked to Ben. "Derek's a fuddy duddy," Ben snorted, "He's hopeless." But secretly Bill and Ben began to miss Derek. At the Dieselworks, Derek had returned. "So he's ready now?" asked his driver. "Lets hope so," said the Dieselworks manager, "There's a big order of China clay needed." "Come on ol' boy, we've no time to lose!" and the driver started him up. "Alright sir," said Derek, but he was a bit worried he'd break down again. "Driver, I get the feeling-" "Don't worry about it Derek, you'll be fine." Derek brightened up as he headed towards the Wellsworth Branch At the China Clay Works, the big shipment was only half done. "My buffers are hurting!" complained Ben. "And my axles are aching!" cried Bill. "BoCo went off on the Main Line," said Timothy, "so you two will have to work twice as hard to get the shipment finished." "Oh great," groaned Bill. "Maybe Derek will be here in time," suggested Ben. "I doubt it," sighed Marion, who had just finished digging a bucketful of clay, "His engine is a mess I hear. It's going to be a while to fix it. By then it may be too late." Bill and Ben groaned as they shunted their wheels off, biffing trucks. "Do you miss Derek now?" asked Timothy. Bill grunted in response, but Ben was too tired to say anything at all. Derek approached Wellsworth. At the station, BoCo was dropping off passengers. "Derek!" he grinned, "Thank goodness! You must hurry, the twins need your help!" "I'm on my way!" cried Derek and he scurried through Wellsworth Junction onto the branch line. The sun was beginning to set, and the twins were nowhere near finished. "Hurry up!" cried Marion, "This china clay-" "I know!" cried Bill, "But we can only shunt so many trucks at once!" "I understand," said Marion gravely, "But I don't think the manager will." "I need more oil," cried Timothy and he came to a halt. "That's just perfect," scowled Ben. Suddenly a familiar horn sprang in the distance. "Is it?" asked Timothy. "Could it be?" asked Bill. 'I think it is!" gasped Ben, "It's-" "Hello, hello, it's me, Derek!" Derek chuckled as he oiled in, "I hear you four need some help." "That's for sure," said Bill. "First, we need you to help shunt these trucks." said Marion. "But Derek can't shunt that fast." said Ben confusingly. "Just watch me," laughed Derek and he began to shunt. With Derek's help, the work indeed went by faster, and the sun hadn't completely set by the time they were finished. '"Hooray!" cried Timothy, who was now on a siding. "Wow," said Derek, who was panting hard, "I've never shunted like that before." "The Dieselworks did a fantastic job," grinned the manager, who was now walking up to him, "Glad to have you back ol' boy." "It's good to be back." grinned Derek. "Come on, lets get these trucks to the Docks." said Marion. So Bill, Ben, and Derek heaved and hauled the China clay trucks on multiple trips from the Docks and back. By the time they were finished, it was very dark indeed. "Wow," panted Derek, "That was a lot of work." "But you completed the task." said the manager, "and you did a great job. You are indeed a Really Useful engine." Derek smiled. His driver patted his cab encouragingly. BoCo brought in an oil tanker for Timothy, and soon he was steaming again. "Yes indeed," said Timothy, "Well done." "Now, is there anything you want to say?" asked Marion to Bill and Ben. Ben sighed. "We're sorry Derek." he said quietly, "We were very wrong to trick you into breaking down." "And?" asked Timothy. "And... we missed you Derek." said Bill, "Welcome home." Derek smiled. "Ah, I missed you two rascals too." Everybody laughed and were all very happy indeed that Derek had come home. Characters * Gordon *Bill and Ben *BoCo *Derek * Murdoch * Den * Dart * Timothy * Marion * Butch (cameo) * Cranky (cameo) Category:Sodor Adventures